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Dog owner frustrated with litterers after pet dies

‘Put your garbage where it belongs,’ says sad, frustrated pet owner after dog eats discarded pig parts
2018-03-16 Doris Welz dog
Misha, an eight-year-old female Husky, died after eating carelessly discarded pig skin and fat in the Goulais Avenue area. Photo supplied by Doris Welz

A Sault woman is broken-hearted and frustrated after her dog died after eating from two boxes of pig skin and pig fat, which had been discarded on a snowbank in her neighbourhood.

“The amount of garbage that is dumped up here all the time is just horrendous…it looked like someone had slaughtered a pig and that stuff was not used,” said Doris Welz, speaking to SooToday.

Welz lives in the Goulais Avenue area.

Welz was taking Misha, her eight-year-old female Husky, for a walk on Anich Road March 2 when the dog wandered off and ate some of the discarded pig skin and fat.

Misha became very ill, and though Welz took her pet to a veterinarian, died a painful death March 6, suffering from pancreatitis. 

“We (Welz and her neighbours) are cleaning up constantly and this is just one of the things people dumped. I guess it’s everywhere when you get near the outside of the city but I just don’t understand (why some people don’t properly dispose of their waste). I was so frustrated when this happened.”

“If we collect it and put it out, they (city garbage collectors) usually pick it up if I call them beforehand, but it’s the matter of us having to pick it up.”

Welz said the area has also been cluttered with large items such as old water tanks and freezers. 

“Last year I had to call them because needles were dropped all over. It’s a real problem.”

“I feel angry and I really miss her. She was really close to me,” said Welz of her canine companion.

Earlier, in an email to SooToday, Welz wrote “instead of disposing of this meat properly, someone decided to dump it by the side of the road for any animal to eat. A wonderful pet had to die because of this thoughtless act. Every day I find garbage thrown out of cars. Why are some people so inconsiderate of others and believe it is okay to dump their waste on the side of the road and onto other people’s property?”

“It’s not just fridges and stoves. Every day I walk down the street and there’s garbage out. I don’t know how many Tim Hortons cups and McDonald’s stuff, half-eaten lunches I’ve picked up. If people would just take their garbage home,” Welz lamented.

“Last year I made a sign and I put a garbage bag underneath the sign, thanking people for putting their garbage in the bag. Two days later the sign was broken down and thrown into the gravel pit. It’s frustrating.”

“Put your garbage where it belongs instead of coming out here and dumping it,” Welz said.

While not directly addressing the issue of litter in the Goulais Avenue area, Larry Girardi, the city's Deputy CAO, Public Works and Engineering Services, responded to SooToday's request for a statement in a brief email. 

“When a dead animal is brought to the landfill it is not left exposed, it is buried,” wrote Girardi.

 


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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